Entries by Charity P.
(36)

Scottsville, KY – June 6, 2016–Dollar General Literacy Foundation awarded Community Action of Southern Kentucky a $12,000 grant to support family literacy. This local grant award is part of over $7.1 million in grants awarded to more than 900 schools, nonprofits and organizations across the 43 states that Dollar General serves.

“We are very fortunate to have community partners like the Dollar General Literacy Foundation that help us fulfill our mission and improve the lives of families in Allen County, KY,” said Melissa Weaver, CEO/Executive Director at Community Action of Southern Kentucky. “It is our hope to use these funds to make a difference in the lives of our families with pre-school age children and those in need of employment skills. We have no other funds that are specific to literacy in any of our other 10 counties, which makes this funding so special and efffective.”

• Education and early childhood development to provide all children with a safe, nurturing, engaging, enjoyable, and secure learning environment, in order to help them gain the awareness, skills, and confidence necessary to succeed in their present environment, and to deal with later responsibilities in school and in life

• PACT(Parent and Child Together) time to help parents see themselves as their children’s first teacher, see how their children learn best, and to provide an opportunity for parents to interact with their children in a learning environment where teachers can model learning strategies and offer support

“Consistent with our mission of Serving Others, we are excited to provide these organizations with funding to further literacy and education across the communities we call home,” said Todd Vasos, Dollar General’s CEO. “It is always so exciting to see the true and meaningful impact the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has on both children and adults looking to improve their lives through literacy.”

The Dollar General Literacy Foundation is proud to support initiatives that help others improve their lives through literacy and education. Since its inception in 1993, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has awarded more than $120 million in grants to nonprofit organizations, helping more than 7.3 million individuals take their first steps toward literacy or continued education.

About Community Action of Southern Kentucky

At Community Action of Southern Kentucky, our mission is “We team with community partners to provide human services with dignity and respect, empowering people in Southern Kentucky to achieve stability and economic security. We have a heart for the people in our communities. We believe everyone deserves the opportunity to be safe, clothed, fed, warm, educated, healthy and most of all have hope. It is our privilege and responsibility to help people achieve these things and have access to all resources. We are a non-profit 501 (c)(3) corporation funded by Federal, state, and local government funding, private contributions, and user fees. Community Action is governed by a board of directors, representing elected officials, community representatives, and low income citizens and advocates. Professional and dedicated support staff are assigned to the various programs in each county. With a budget and assets over $15 million, Community Action maintains approximately 35 program facilities in our 10-county area.

About the Dollar General Literacy Foundation

The Dollar General Literacy Foundation is proud to support initiatives that help others improve their lives through literacy and education as part of the company’s mission of Serving Others for over 20 years. Since its inception in 1993, the Dollar General Literacy Foundation has awarded more than $120 million in grants to nonprofit organizations, helping more than 7.3 million individuals take their first steps toward literacy or continued education. For more information about the Dollar General Literacy Foundation and its grant programs, visit www.dgliteracy.org.

About Dollar General Corporation

Dollar General Corporation (NYSE: DG) has been delivering value to shoppers for over 75 years through its mission of Serving Others. Dollar General helps shoppers Save time. Save money. Every day!® by offering products that are frequently used and replenished, such as food, snacks, health and beauty aids, cleaning supplies, clothing for the family, housewares and seasonal items at low everyday prices in convenient neighborhood locations. Dollar General operates 12,483 stores in 43 states as of January 29, 2016. In addition to high quality private brands, Dollar General sells products from America's most-trusted manufacturers such as Clorox, Energizer, Procter & Gamble, Hanes, Coca-Cola, Mars, Unilever, Nestle, Kimberly-Clark, Kellogg's, General Mills, and PepsiCo. For more information on Dollar General, please visit www.dollargeneral.com.

A standard 50 gallon water heater with a set point of 120 degrees will use an estimated $500.00 of electricity per year, the new style heat pump water heaters which are designed to heat the same amount of water will cost you $180.00 / $200.00 per year.

Based on these numbers your annual savings would be $300.00 per year!!!!

The cost of the new appliance and the installation will vary but would average around $2000.00 if the life expedience of the new heaters is 15 years. If we can save $300.00 per year times 15 years our savings would be $ 4500.00 so our overall savings would be $ 2500.00 over the life time of the new appliance. Other types of water heaters are now available that conserve energy, check out the new types with your local plumbing installer for your best solution.

Though our energy bills for our homes vary based on the construction and design, there are things we can do to reduce our cost. Based on energy usage, the average home in the U.S. uses 36 % for heating, and cooling. Lowering our thermostats in the winter to 68 degrees and in summer time raising them to 74 degrees will reduce our cost.

About 24% of energy usage is spent for water heating. Most common water heaters will cost approximately $500.00 per year, if set to 120 degrees. This can be checked with a thermometer at the closest faucet to the water heater. If it is set higher than 120 degrees, this will cost significantly more.

Another way to save would be insulating your water heater tank using an insulation blanket that can be purchased at Lowes or other hardware stores. Always refer to the water heater or product manual as some heaters already have enough and could cause problems if wrapped. Also look for warning labels on the heater such as “DO NOT WRAP”.

Also insulating the first 6 feet of the water lines near the heater both hot and cold lines with R-3 insulation wrap that can be found at local hardware stores will conserve energy. Special cautions should be used if you have a gas water heater as you don’t want to create a fire hazard.

Research shows that young children are more likely to succeed academically and are less likely to engage in violent behavior in the future if their families are involved in their education. Many parents say that they feel unwelcome or uncomfortable in their children's early learning programs. The activities below will help our program by letting parents know they are welcome in school and by helping them find ways to contribute to their children's education both in and out of the Head Start Program.

1. Smile When You See Parents -Greet them. Most parents only occasionally interact with teachers so make sure that at least 90 percent of your encounters with them are positive, warm, and friendly. The impressions left from fleeting encounters in the hallway last a long time.

2. Learn Their Names. Learn how they like to be addressed by their first name and how to pronounce them correctly. Parents really respond to this consideration.

3. Declare your Intention Tell parents that you want to partner with them, that you appreciate their support, and look forward to working together. Remind them of this as often as possible.

4. Communicate often and in Various Forms. Provide information about what's going on in your class (weekly would be ideal): what children are learning, what they've accomplished, what you're excited about, what they're excited about, and the learning and growth you're seeing. Suggest things that they might ask their child about: "Ask them to tell you about what they learned last week about meal worms.

5. Make a Positive Phone Call Home. Call all homes within the first couple of weeks and then at regular intervals throughout the year. It will surprise parents at first but it becomes a welcomed conversation.